Personal beverage cup holder

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for holding and carrying various types of common beverage cups and cans, comprises an elongated cylindrical support unit that has a support for holding a changeable C-shaped receiving member, a support for a retractable L-shaped receptacle member and a support for a biblike separator that separates the cup from the user&#39;s chest. The apparatus is suspended at two points on the cylindrical support unit by a strap around the user&#39;s neck.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates in general to devices for holding and carryingbeverage containers. In particular this invention relates to devices forholding and carrying various sizes of beverage containers adapted to beworn comfortably and adjustably around a person's neck, and isretractable to conserve space when not in use.

2. Prior Art

It is common for people to drink beverages while they are walking,driving a car, watching movie, and at sporting events. These beveragesare commonly sold in cups or cans. Such cups come in various sizes, andare circular in cross section. The circular is wider at the top than atthe bottom, and has an open top and a closed bottom. When a beverage isserved in such circumstances, the user needs to be very careful andproperly handles the beverage container to avoid dropping or spilling.

The best prior art known to Applicant includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,754,903;5,139,222; 4,767,092; 5,060,835; and 4,946,094. Most of the prior artsare devices for holding beverage containers that cooperate with theinterior of an automobile, like U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,767,092 and 5,139,222.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,835, discloses a belt apparatus adapted to besecured around a person's waist and supports a beverage container, aswell as other belongings of the person.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,094, discloses a complainer system having acontainer housing that is conpartmented to allow insert of packaged andunpackaged foodstuffs, and adapted to be removably coupled to the bodyof a user.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,903, discloses a softdrink carrier that is adaptedto be secured around a person's neck. In such prior art the strap is notadjustable, as is provided in the subject invention concept.Furthermore, the pouch is not adapted to receive various sized cupdiameters, as is provided in the subject invention concept.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A beverage cup holder and carrier system is provided and adapted to beworn around a user's neck, and to support a soft drink cup such that itfreely rests against the user's chest.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide such abeverage carrier system that includes an adjustable strap means so thatthe carrier not only can be properly utilized by different sized personsbut, the beverage container can get as close as possible to user'smouth, so the user can drink the beverage through the straw withoutusing his/her hands.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a devicethat, when employed, allows for the convenience of having hands freemovement.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device forholding various sized beverage cups, which are circular in cross sectionand having an outwardly tapered side wall in a direction from a bottomto a top.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device forholding various sized beverage cups and cans, which are circular incross section and have a straight side wall.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system forholding and carrying beverage cups of various sizes around a person'sneck.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system forholding and carrying drinking cups that have a handle.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a beveragecarrier system that includes a separator or a biblike system, forseparating the cup from user's chest, and to prevent spillage ofbeverage on the clothing of user.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a system forholding and carrying various types of beverage containers that can beretracted when not in use to conserve space.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive,easily manufacturable beverage cup holder that may be disposed afteruse.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the Personal Cup Holder as worn around theneck of the user in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is the simple form of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is one way of connecting and adjusting the strap member 3 to thering member 1.

FIG. 4 shows how Strap member 3 can be connected to member 6, whenmembers 2a and 2b are present.

FIG. 5 shows how Strap member 3 can be connected to member 6, whenmembers 2a and 2b are not present.

FIG. 6 displays one form of receiving member.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged, side view of elongated cylindrical supportelement 6.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged, side view of separator member 7.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged, side view of elongated cylindrical supportelement 6A.

FIG. 10 shows how receiving member can be slid through members 8 and 13.

FIG. 11 shows that receiving members is slid in, and on the right theircross sections can be seen.

FIG. 12 is one form of the present invention, which shows side view ofring member, and L-shaped member, and how they are attached to member 6.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged side view of L-shaped member.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged side view of one form of holding member 12, andits cross section.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged side view of another form of holding member 12,and its cross section.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged side view of another form of holding member 12,and its cross section.

FIG. 17 shows how holding member 12A is attached to member 6, and itscross section.

FIG. 18 shows how holding member 128 is attached to member 6, and itscross section.

FIG. 19 shows how holding member 12C is attached to member 6, and itscross section.

FIG. 20 shows side view of neck pad member 18 and how strap member ispassing through it.

FIG. 21 is a side view of another form of the cup holder.

FIG. 22 is a side view of receiving member for cup holder in FIG. 21.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated inFIGS. 10 and 11, which includes a receiving member. Receiving memberincludes element 5a, element 5b, a ring member 1, and two small circularopening therethrough elements. They are attached to each other asillustrated in FIG. 10. Element 5b is a small elongated cylindricalelement parallel to the ring member's diameter, and it's midpoint linesup on the symmetrical line of ring member.

The apparatus also includes an elongated cylindrical support element 6Awhich will be called cylinder for short. Cylinder is illustrated in FIG.9, which is an elongated cylindrical rod like device, preferably madefrom plastic, and includes a slot member 10, an elongated cylindricalhole 13, and two perpendicular slit members 8 and 11. Slot member 10 ismade long and wide enough to accept the support flap member 9, centralaxis of the elongated cylindrical hole member 13 is along the cylindercentral longitudinal axis, the perpendicular slit elements are openingtherethrough elements and pass cylinder central longitudinal axis. Slitmember 11 is parallel to slot member 10 and is made to accept strapmember 3. Slit member 8 along with elongated cylindrical hole member 13are made to accept 5a and 5b elements. The width of slit member 8 issmaller than the diameter of the elongated cylindrical hole member 13,and slightly bigger than the element 5a width.

The whole thing is made somehow that receiving member (elements 5a and5b) can be slid through the elongated cylindrical hole 13 and slit 8,slid all the way and stop where the midpoint of small cylindricalelement 5b lines up on the midpoint of cylindrical member 6A.

The apparatus further includes a strap member 3, constructed of anyappropriate material such as plastic, nylon fabric, leather, etc., andhas two ends. As illustrated in FIG. 4 and 5, there are two ways toconnect this strap member around user's neck: 1) having one end fixedlysecured to one end of elongated cylindrical support element 6A and anopposing strap end after passing through small circular member 2aadapted to pass around the neck portion of the user, then passes throughsmall circular member 2b, and then passes through slit member 11. Thatpart of the strap member that passes through slit 11 may be wrappedaround elongated cylindrical support element 6A (over slit 11), as shownin FIG. 4 and 5. slit 11 shall be made tight enough to hold the strapmember in place. 2) Subsequent to the use, strap member 3 may not passthrough small circular elements 2a and 2b, but instead directly passesaround user's neck and then passes through slit 11.

Apparatus also includes a separator member 7, illustrated in FIG. 8,which separates the cup from the user's chest and provides for a biblikedevice to prevent spillage. The separator member is constructed of anyappropriate material such as plastic, paper, etc., preferably a materialthat can absorb spillage. Separator member 7 includes a first leg 16having a support flap member attached to one end of it, and a second leg15 attached to the other end of first leg 16 and extending belowL-shaped receptacle element. Separator member 7 is suspended between thecylinder 6A and user's chest when support flap member 9 is inserted intothe slot element 10. Second leg 15 may have an angle between 90 to 120degree with respect to first leg 16, and may have sides that will comeup so, if the beverage is spilled, it will be collected in there.

In order to hold cylindrical beverage cups and cans, which are generallycircular in cross section and having straight side wall, a L-shapedreceptacle element can be added to the preferred embodiment. As shown inFIGS. 10 and 11, the L-shaped element is attached under member 6A.

The L-shaped receptacle member as illustrated in FIG. 13 includes, avertical leg 14, part 14A ,and a horizontal leg 15, where horizontal leg15 is hingedly connected to vertical leg 14 and can only be moved upwardwhen it is in horizontal position, vertical leg 14 is hingedly connectedto cylinder 6A and can only be moved toward front. Top edges of part 14Aare attached under member 6A. Rectangular element 14c is perpendicularlyconnected to one end of first leg 14, two small rectangular elements 14bare perpendicularly connected at the end corners of 14 and 14c. Twosmall cylindrical parts 14a are connected to the other end of first leg14. Part 14A includes rectangular part 14d, to which two smallrectangular elements 14e are perpendicularly attached to it's ends, 14eelements are flexible enough to accept 14a parts, so part 14 can beremoved if there is no need for it. Two small cylindrical elements 15aare connected to rectangular part 15 as illustrated in FIG. 13. Thesmall cylindrical elements 15a and 14a serve as hinge, they go throughthe holes of parts 14b and 14e. First leg 14 can be moved toward frontbut, part 14d will stop it from moving toward back. Second leg 15 can bemoved upward but, can not be moved downward because of part 14C, andit's because of this feature that when a cylindrical beverage cup isinserted in the ring member, element 15 will hold the bottom andbeverage cup will not fall through. In order to use the apparatus, userholds the elongated cylindrical support element in one hand and with theother hand inserts the right size of the receiving member into theelongated cylindrical support element. Now grabs the strap member whichis already passed through small circular opening 2a, and pass it aroundhis/her neck, then through small circular opening 2b, then through slitmember 11. Now he/she can adjusts the position of the apparatus onhis/her chest by moving the apparatus up or down and pulling the strapmember. After positioning the apparatus s/he may insert the cup into thering member. It is desirable for the ring member to support the cupanywhere above the midpoint in height of the cup, and adjacent the topfor properly holding the cup.

In FIG. 2, the simplest form of the present invention has beenillustrated. The simplest form includes a receiving member, whichincludes (1) a ring member 1, that has a circular opening therethrough,the circular opening has a circumferential edge bounding the opening,and (2) two small circular opening therethrough elements 2a and 2b,preferably attached on the opposing ends of the ring member diameter,away from path of receiving cup.

The simplest form also includes a strap member 3, which has two ends,one end passes through 2a and then passes through length adjustmentmeans 4, and the other end after passing around user's neck it passesthrough 2b and then passes through length adjustment means 4 as shown inFIG. 3.

Ring member 1 constructed of any appropriate material such as metal,plastic, wood, fabric, cardboard, jewelry chain, VELCRO, etc.,preferably rigid material, strong enough to hold the beverage container.

Strap member can be made of VELCRO, which is a nylon material made withboth a surface of tiny hooks and a complimentary surface of an adhesivepile, used, as in garments, in matching strips that can be pressedtogether or pulled apart for easy fastening and unfastening. If VELCROmaterial is used for ring member, then the ring member can be adjustedto the size of the cup.

In FIG. 21, another form of the present invention is illustrated. Thisform includes a receiving member that is illustrated in FIG. 22, anelongated cylindrical support member 6, a L-shaped member and a holdermember 12A. The receiving member as illustrated in FIG. 22, includes aring member 1, and a small elongated cylindrical member 5e. Element 5cand element 5d connect the small elongated cylindrical member 5e to thering member 1 somehow that leave a space between them. Holder member 12Aas shown in FIG. 14 is a hollow cylindrical object, and included anelongated slit opening along it's length, along one of the edges of thiselongated slit is raised and curved outward (shown as element F), theother edge which is called element I, is attached to the elongatedcylindrical support member 6 with the elongated slit opening facing up.In order to use the apparatus, user holds the receiving member inhis/her hand and puts the small elongated cylindrical member 5e over gapS, and push it till it snaps into the elongated slit opening and fitsinto the hollow cylinder and element F passes through the space betweenthe small elongated cylindrical member 5e and the ring member 1. Gap Sis the space between the element F and the elongated cylindrical supportmember 6. In case of need, receiving member can be pulled out, and useanother receiving member with a different ring member size. In FIGS. 14,15 and 16, three different forms of holder member 12, which are 12A, 12B,12C , and their cross sections are illustrated. Holder member 12B isthe same as 12A but, both edges of the slit opening (shown as elements Gand H) are raised, and curved outward. Holder member 12C includes twoC-shaped members, where one edge of C-shaped openings are raised andcurved, and the other edges are attached to said elongated cylindricalsupport element 6, away from each other with said C-shaped openingsfacing up.

In FIG. 12, another form of the present invention is illustrated. Inthis form receiving member 1 is permanently attached to member 6 and isnot changeable, this means both member 6 and receiving member need to bechanged for various sized cups.

The foregoing descriptions of the specific forms and embodiments of theinvention have been presented for the purpose of illustrations anddescriptions. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications andvariations are possible in light of the above teaching. It is intendedthat the scope of the invention be limited not by this detaileddescription, but rather by the claims appended hereto.

I claim:
 1. A retractable apparatus, for holding and carrying beveragecups of various sizes, adjustably to be worn around a person's neck,comprising:an elongated cylindrical support element having alongitudinal axis, said elongated cylindrical support element includes aslot through a mid-section thereof and a slit through an end thereof; areceiving member, said receiving member comprising:a ring memberattached to said support element at an intermediate portion thereof andextending laterally therefrom in a plane parallel to said axis, saidring member having a circular opening therethrough, said circularopening having a circumferential edge bounding said opening; and twosmall circular elements each having an opening therethrough and attachedto said ring member diametrically opposed with respect to each other; anL-shaped receptacle member having a first leg with one end secured tosaid support element and extending therefrom perpendicularly to saidring member and a second end connected to a second leg extendingtherefrom and parallel to said ring member for receiving cylindricalcans and cups; a strap member having a first end connected to saidsupport element and an opposite end passed through said small circularelements and secured in said slit for releasably and adjustably couplingsaid cylindrical support element around a persons neck; a separatormember having a flap member inserted into said slot and extendingbetween said receptacle member and a user for preventing spillage fromthe cup onto a user's chest; and a neck pad on said strap for separatingsaid strap member from a user's neck.